Lucky 13—that's the number of publishers that have announced new distribution agreements with SCB Distributors in Gardena, Calif., which is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year. "It's a shifting world," said SCB marketing director Lance Tilford. "We'll have 200 titles in our fall catalogue; our spring catalogue was about 120." The influx of presses brings the total number of publishers SCB represents to 90, although, as Tilford pointed out, they are not all active every season.
For SCB president and cofounder Aaron Silverman, the new clients are part of a growth spurt that began last summer, when Tilford, formerly with PGW, came on board. Patrick Hughes, formerly with Greenery Press, is the latest hire and will handle special sales. "We grew quite a bit last year," said Silverman. "Even with all the upheaval in the book business, I see an enormous need for distribution service."
SCB's growth has inched up with titles such as Galadriel Waters's New Clues to Harry Potter Book 5: Hints from the Ultimate Unofficial Guide to the Mysteries of Harry Potter (Wizarding Press), which shipped close to 80,000 copies, and Hale Dwoskin's The Sedona Method: Your Key to Lasting Happiness, Success, Peace and Emotional Well-Being (Sedona Press), which shipped 50,000 copies. "We have several books like Charles G. Addison's The History of the Knights Templar (Adventures Unlimited) that have been going for years and years and years. It's up this year. A lot of it has to do with The Da Vinci Code," said Silverman. SCB has also done well with two recent Parallax publications from Thich Nhat Hanh: Finding Our True Home: Living in the Pure Land Here and Now and Opening the Heart of the Cosmos: Insights on the Lotus Sutra.
With sales, and inventory, climbing, Silverman is looking to expand SCB's warehouse space from its current 30,000-sq.-ft. capacity using two side-by-side warehouses and a third satellite one. "There's a good chance we'll be moving at the end of the year," said Silverman, adding that the company will stay in the Los Angeles area. "I've always seen the place I'll make or lose money is warehouse fulfillment. For most of California we try to be as close to overnight as possible."
Among the publishers that have signed on with SCB to begin distribution this summer or fall are several startups: Vox Pop, founded by former Soft Skull Press publisher Sander Hicks; San Francisco—based Dunhill Publishing, which will lead off with a book by Buddhist leader Daisaku Ikeda called Fighting for Peace; and Dyna-Paige Corp. in San Antonio, Tex., publisher of Brian D. Price's Meals to Die For, on capital punishment. SCB will continue to extend its reach across the border with several Canadian houses—No Media Kings, which does cutting-edge science fiction; CCNM Publishing, which publishes on health and medicine; and Fox Music Books, which publishes illustrated books on popular music celebrities. It has also signed U.K.—based FAB Press, which publishes books and magazines on cult cinema, and London and Prague house Magic Realist Press, the publishing arm of Baba Studios design group, which specializes in literary-themed tarot decks. New presses on this side of the pond include underground comics and art-book house Last Gasp Publishing in San Francisco; gaming publisher Mystic Ridge in Albuquerque; Santa Fe—based Sherman Asher Publishing, which does multicultural titles and books on the craft of writing; and literary publishers Small Beer Press in Northampton and Gorsky Press in Los Angeles.
